HeatherSwift

Senior Adviser to the Secretary

Senior Adviser to the Secretary of the Interior

Heather Swift serves as the senior adviser to the Secretary of the Interior. She was previously the press secretary for the Department of Interior.

Heather Swift has worked for public affairs and lobbying firms, for then Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke, and for many other Republicans running for federal office before her current position at Interior. Swift began her career at public affairs firm Mercury when it lobbied on behalf of NRG Energy and Peabody Energy (one of Zinke’s past campaign donors); she later worked at DCI Group when it lobbied on behalf of Exxon Mobil. Even though while she was at Mercury, Swift worked with an organization called No American Debt that “‘educate[d] the general public about the severity'” of America’s debt, since becoming Interior Press Secretary she has defended Secretary Zinke’s use of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money on chartered flights and private jets. She also defended Secretary Zinke’s controversial reassignment of top career officials within the Interior Department, a move that one of the reassigned officials said was retaliation for his speaking out about the effects of climate change. Swift also kept the Glacier National Park Superintendent and a United States Geological Survey climate change expert from meeting with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg when Zuckerberg visited Glacier National Park, even though Zuckerberg “specifically requested” to meet with the USGS climate change scientist. When she isn’t busy defending Secretary Zinke’s controversial actions, Swift hobnobs with the DC elite— she recently attended a party co-hosted by former Trump strategist and white nationalist Steve Bannon.

Heather Swift worked for Mercury, a public affairs firm, when it was lobbying for Peabody Energy, the “largest private-sector coal company in the world” and NRG Energy, an energy company that owns natural gas, oil, and coal plants across the country. The lobbying contracts were worth more than $300,000.

In 2009, Mercury was paid $40,000 to lobby for NRG Energy, an energy company that owns natural gas, oil, and coal plants across the country.

Heather Swift worked for DCI Group, “a Republican public relations, lobbying and consulting shop,” when it was paid $320,000 to lobby for Exxon Mobil and when it was paid $5 million to lobby for the coal industry trade association.

Heather Swift worked at DCI Group, “a Republican public relations, lobbying and consulting shop” from December 2012 to July 2013.

Later, in April 2016, DCI was “subpoenaed… for records relating to their role in helping ExxonMobil” with “climate change denial.” DCI created a “now-defunct” website that “promoted climate change denial and which received funding from Exxon.”

DCI also “works with the coal industry trade association, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE).” ACCCE paid DCI “paid $5 million over a two-year period from 2013-2014.”

Heather Swift defended David Young, who was then her boss, when Young said that he wanted to “share the good news of Jesus Christ” to Jewish Senator Chuck Schumer.

Heather Swift previously worked for Republican candidate David Young who was running for the U.S. Senate in Iowa. In July 2013, Young said that, if elected Senator “he would invite New York Senator Chuck Schumer to lunch so that he could share the good news of Jesus Christ.” Chuck Schumer is Jewish.

Heather Swift defended Young’s remarks by saying, “‘The sharing of faith isn’t solely for the purpose of conversion; it is also a tool for understanding one’s colleagues and building deeper relationships.'”

While Heather Swift worked at Mercury Public Affairs, she assisted former New York Governor George Pataki with his organization, No American Debt.

George Pataki founded No American Debt “‘to hold Obama accountable for the economy and growing national debt,'” and to “‘educate the general public about the severity of America’s $14 trillion debt and how this debt impacts everyday Americans.'”

Current Activity

Heather Swift kept the Glacier National Park Superintendent and a climate change expert from meeting with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg when Zuckerberg visited Glacier National Park.

When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Glacier National Park in July 2017, Facebook “specifically requested” that Zuckerberg meet with Dan Fagre, a research ecologist at the US Geological Survey (USGS). Zuckerberg and Fagre were scheduled to meet to “discuss the effects of climate change on local glaciers.” USGS appeared “excited about Fagre’s meeting with Zuckerberg.”

However, the meeting was canceled by Heather Swift. Swift, in a July 12, 2017 email about the Zuckerberg visit, wrote “‘just to be clear USGS will be standing down from the event as well as this is not an official event.'” The “abrupt withdrawal was seen as confusing, if not sinister.” USGS “‘did not make the decision'” to remove Fagre from the meeting.

Heather Swift “assumed control of all press outreach regarding Fagre’s dismissal.” USGS staff was instructed that, if they received “‘any inquiries regarding USGS role recent climate change meeting at Glacier NP, [to] please make no comments’ and refer all press to Swift.”

Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow was also not allowed to be involved with Zuckerberg’s tour, even though Mow holds the “top job at Glacier.” Mow is “known as a climate expert who frequently tells visitors that the retreating ice sheets at Glacier are evidence of a climate undergoing rapid change.”

“Heather Swift made it clear that she did not want Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow involved” in Zuckerberg’s tour, “according to three people with knowledge of the decision.” Mow himself “was not involved with the decision” not to be on the tour. Additionally, “Park Service’s public affairs staff was instructed not to post anything about Zuckerberg’s visit on its Facebook or other social media accounts, including sharing a Facebook post he wrote during the visit in which he registered his alarm at the shrinking glaciers at the park.” Interior Department officials’ decision to “micromanage” Zuckerberg’s trip to Glacier was “highly unusual.”

Swift denied that “the decision to pull Mow and Fagre from the tour was related to the climate change debate,” claiming instead that instead the decision was “‘about using government resources and tax dollars responsibly.'”

Heather Swift has defended Secretary Zinke’s controversial reassignment of top career officials within the Interior Department.

In June 2017, Secretary Zinke started reassigning members of the Senior Executive Service to different decisions in the Interior Department. Some have observed that the Senior Executive Service employees were “perhaps unlawfully” reassigned.

Joel Clement was one of the officials reassigned. Clement, who resigned from Interior in October 2017, claims that “the Trump administration retaliated against him for publicly disclosing how climate change affects Alaska Native communities.”

According to Heather Swift, the “‘personnel moves'” were “‘conducted to better serve the taxpayer and the Department’s operations through matching Senior Executive skill sets with mission and operational requirements.'”

Heather Swift has defended Secretary Zinke’s use of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money on chartered flights. According to Swift, the chartered flights were “booked only when feasible commercial flights were unavailable.” Secretary Zinke is currently under investigation for his use of chartered flights.

In June 2017, Secretary Zinke “chartered a flight from Las Vegas to near his home in Montana… aboard a plane owned by oil-and-gas executives,” a flight that “cost taxpayers $12,375.”

A few months earlier, in March 2017, “Zinke and his official entourage also boarded private flights between the Caribbean islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix during a three-day trip to the Virgin Islands.” The trip included “an official snorkeling tour.”

Heather Swift defended the flights, saying, “Zinke’s charter flights were authorized by ethics officials and booked only when feasible commercial flights were unavailable.” Swift “did not provide documentation of the approvals.” Swift “could not give a cost estimate” for the Virgin Islands trip, but said “tickets for Zinke and staff were paid out of the agency’s budget.”

Heather Swift has denied that anything improper happened when a Whitefish-based power company secured a $300 million government contract to restore electricity to Puerto Rico, saying that Secretary Zinke knows the company’s CEO only because “they both live in a small town.”

Whitefish Energy, a “Whitefish-based power company… secured a $300 million contract to restore electricity to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria.” The contract has spurred “questions from government agencies and Congress about why the 2-year-old operation from Montana was selected over larger, more experienced providers.” The company has also “come under fire because of alleged ties to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, whose hometown is Whitefish.”

Heather Swift has defended Secretary Zinke’s relationship with Whitefish Energy CEO Andy Techmanski. According to Swift, “‘The Zinkes and the Techmanskis know each other because they both live in a small town (population 6,000) where everyone knows everyone, and his son joined a friend who worked a summer job at one of their construction sites.'”

Heather Swift has defended the Interior Department’s lack of transparency in responding to FOIAs.

The Wilderness Society filed public records requests with the Interior Department but, in September 2017, after filing “more than 30 public records requests” with the Department, received only one response.

Heather Swift disputed the number of FOIA requests that had “gone unanswered.”